I wonder when these kinds of colourful discussions will be ended in the Muslim world. Please refer to my previous postings dated 8 February 2010 (http://d.hatena.ne.jp/itunalily2/20100208) and 13 February 2012 as one of the examples of repetition. (Lily)
1. Free Malaysia Today （http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com）
Stop judging and start loving, 14 February 2012
by Jeswan Kaur
Why shun Feb 14 simply because it calls for love to be remembered, in its most pure form?
Of the many days in a year, Feb 14 holds a special place in the hearts of many people for the simple reason that it is a day when love in all its diversity is celebrated.
But for the Malaysian Islamic Development Department or Jakim, it has declared Feb 14 as a day synonymous with vice activities. And just why has the department done so?
To Jakim head Wan Sheikh Abdul Aziz, Feb 14 is to be rejected by Muslims because he claims Valentine’s Day is associated with elements of Christianity. A fatwa or religious edict was issued seven years ago barring Muslims from giving Feb 14 any special attention.
While human beings around the world celebrate the significance of Feb 14, for Jakim it is a day to put in place the “Mind the Valentine’s Day Trap”, which it did last year to punish Muslims who chose to celebrate the day, arresting more than 100 Muslim couples who defied the ban.
Then there was a religious scholar, Siti Nor Bahyah, and host of the programme “Semanis Kurma” who in 2010 criticised Valentine’s Day for propagating sin and vice.
Clearly stirring the hornet’s nest, she went on to say that it was Christians who typically indulged in vice, be it frequenting discos or dating.
“Selalunya buat maksiat, pergi disko… couple, couple, bersunyi-sunyian, ini adalah tradisi bagi masyarakat yang beragama Kristian bukan agama Islam…,” she had said.
Siti Bahyah’s ignorance and racial arrogance had her cautioning Muslims, saying that celebrating Valentine’s Day was akin to “supporting Christianity and English”.
Sad indeed that the Malaysian scholars refuse to think out of box and be enlightened when it came to religious and non-religious issues. As far as Valentine’s Day goes, it has no religious affinity and is merely a day to show love and compassion towards all living beings and things.
Don’t hold Christianity to ransom
It is not only Jakim and Siti Bahyah who are at fault. Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, too, gave his two cents worth saying the celebration of romantic love was “not suitable” for Muslims.
To discriminate between who can and cannot celebrate love is perplexing. Why shun Feb 14 simply because it calls for love to be remembered, in its most pure form?
What is worse is that dense minds are quick to label Christiantiy as encouraging immoral activities. Why hold Christianity to ransom where Valantine’s Day is concerned?
Why are the country’s Islamic scholars so quick to find a scapegoat each time things go wrong with the Muslim community?
Statistics between 2005 and 2009 showed 407 babies were abandoned in Malaysia. In 2005, too, where HIV/AIDS cases went, there was a greater proportion of Malay Muslim men, at 72.8%.
Likewise, among drug abusers, the Malays in 2005 were once again over-represented, at 68%.
In 2005, of the new addicts recorded, 71% were Malays, 11% Chinese and eight percent Indians.
Is Christianity to be blamed for the above scenario? Clearly, Muslim scholars are washing their hands off in trying to address the root cause of the problem, going into denial that there is a bigger problem afflicting their community.
Muslim scholars biased, racist
Is Siti Nor Bahyah not racist and biased in attacking the Christians, portraying them as sinful people?
Is Hasan Ali, the former Selangor PAS commissioner, not racist when he openly declared his dislike for Feb 14?
When it comes to issues of love and compassion, these scholars have little to offer. They have only one agenda – to promote and place Islam on the highest pedestal, despite the damage done along the way.
It is both amusing and amazing that while countries like Singapore, China and South Korea spare no effort in commemorating Valentine’s Day with their natives spending lavishly on Valentine’s gifts, Malaysia in the company of Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan have little patience and no understanding of the true essence of Valentine’s Day – no surprise then why these nations have jumped the gun and decided that Feb 14 does not reflect love but instead threaten the Islamic culture.
In any case, it is Valentine’s Day today, so do appreciate love in any which form it comes. Stop judging and start loving.
・Jeswan Kaur is a freelance writer and a FMT columnist.
2. Aliran (http://aliran.com)
Islam and Valentine’s Day, 13 February 2012
by Aliran
Mohamad Tajuddin Mohamad Rasdi says he does not believe in such celebrations, but because others do and it makes them happy, what is the big deal?
I wish to contribute my thoughts on the Valentine-Christian issue with respect to the renowned speaker Ustazah Siti Nor Bahyah.
The main message of my thoughts is simply that Muslim scholars and clerics must be made to understand that they are not experts in everything … particularly a good many things about other faiths like Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Judaism.
Muslim clerics like the Ustazah merely receive their education from traditional Islamic Institutions that do not have the subjects of Philosophy, Civilisation and Religious Studies.
All they know and have learnt are only from a single source of Muslim Studies.
As an academic, I will admit and clearly explain what I do know and what I do not know. If I had to respond to a certain question or comment with respect to knowledge that I do not possess much, then I am most humble in answering and never in an absolute or commandeering tone … much lest in a sarcastic or demeaning manner.
It is most unfortunate that in Malaysia, as well as perhaps in other Muslim countries too, Muslims think that it is their ‘divine’ duty to hate people of other faiths.
This is done to the point that a non-Muslim chief minister is despised despite his excellence in governance but a Muslim minister is supported and protected when allegations of rape, murder or bribery seem apparent.
This is the ‘racism’ of religion. These Muslims are completely unaware that Islam is here to bring peace of mind and heart and that one should love all of mankind.
The one that Muslims should despise are the wrongdoers … yes even if they are Muslims! When Muslims read the Al-Qur’an and come to the verses where Allah chastise the wrongdoers, the Malays would automatically assigned in their minds people of other faiths such as Christian, Hindus and Jews. Islam, as I have come to understand it, does not teach this idea of ‘you are either with me or with them’ situation.
Yes, Muslims may point to the Surah al-Kafirun but that is meant for a particular situation where Islam is being challenged directly in a crude and vicious manner.
We should not be too hard on the Ustazah for two reasons. Firstly, her racial stance is very clear towards non-Malays and this is simply the product of NGOs like Perkasa and certain political parties stoking the racial flames.
Many Ustaz that I have heard from my collection of CDs would often denigrate other religions in front of Muslims in the mosques and suraus. Many of these statements remain in complete silence as only some Muslims are purview to them.
Siti Nor Bahyah was unfortunate enough to have said it on TV and so it exploded in her face. So we should not be too hard on her as she is just a small tip of the iceberg; there are hundreds of others clerics guilty of the same matter.
We should also take a long hard look at our leaders who allow such NGOs as Perkasa seemingly to champion the fate of one race by denigrating loudly, rudely and dangerously issues concerning Malaysian society.
Secondly, we should not be too hard on her because her education at a religious institution is, to me, outdated in its curriculum content and course intentions.
Although I myself have never attended any religious institution locally or overseas, I would venture an educated guess that these institutions do not offer subjects such as philosophy, civilisational elements of humankind, comparative religions, modern social issues and psychology.
I judge this from the hundreds of CDs of religious lectures by the most acclaimed ulamak in our country.
It is therefore my own conclusion that Ustaz and Ustazah of these kinds can only teach Muslims in mosques and suraus and should never be invited to speak and comment on national television with respect to issues such as Valentine’s Day, yoga or Christianity.
They simply do not know what they are talking about!
Furthermore, these people have never gone through a Ph.D process; in such training one would have to break down all the knowledge that one knows and research it to its root and reformulate a new understanding with a clear set of views and assumptions.
In the university, one is not allowed to teach students if one does not have a Ph.D. But in the religious arena such as in Islam, a simple degree or a diploma graduate is let loose among the Muslims to air their limited views about Islam in the modern world. This is a very dangerous situation.
As an architecture academic, I myself have had experience engaging in discourses with ulamak or clerics concerning issues of mosque design and conservation as well as the language of Islamic architecture.
Very few clerics are humble enough to say they do not possess knowledge to make a religious verdict but there are many more who are arrogant enough to show that they and only they know about all things related to Islam because they went to a religious institution, can speak Arabic and that people like me have only got knowledge from books and in a ‘kafir’ institution.
Well, to these people, do they know about environment behaviour studies, or architectural anthropology, or relating the values of the sunnah and inventing new architectural language?
Do they even know what is the technology history and meanings of domes in Islam? They certainly DO NOT! But they fall prey to their own deluded sense of importance and knowledge.
What are my suggestions to remedy this educational malady?
Firstly, I recommend that people such as Siti Nor Bahyah, who shows a great talent for speaking, should follow a post-graduate course in philosophy or comparative religion.
In fact I would advocate that all graduates of Islamic Studies attend at least a two-year Masters course in something outside of Islam such as spending time in a non-Muslim community and reporting their beliefs and concerns and thus evaluating them in relation to the Islamic principle of dakwah.
That would give them a better perspective from the people and provide much-needed vocabulary to speak with that culture.
A friend of mine from UKM read his Ph.D from the Divinity School in Edinburgh to learn the strategy of dakwah on television used by the Christians.
This shows that if we, Muslims, are humble and admit that all knowledge belong to Allah, then we will respect even knowledge from the ‘infidels’ or ‘non-believers’.
Personally I just like to use the term non-Muslim because the other two represent a tone of hostility.
My next suggestion is to change the madrasah curriculum to add the subject of comparative religion with a real expert that gives a fair view of the religions or else invite priests, padres or monks to lecture about their own faiths in the madrasah.
Why not? Is this a sin? This is knowledge. If you want to set up a business in a foreign country, you would get all the necessary information about their culture from a local and not from a secondary source!
So if we are to live side by side with non-Muslims we must have knowledge and respect of their religion and culture.
When did Muslims become so arrogant to think that only they are the beloved of Allah and that only they will go to heaven? That sounds exactly what the Jews said to the Prophet Muhammad.
To me it does not mean that Judaism is a ‘bad’ religion but the arrogance of the individuals who think so. I know so many Muslim individuals like that holding the reins of power in various positions in Muslim countries.
And what of the Valentine’s Day issue? Or for that matter why don’t we drag celebrating birthdays and wedding anniversaries?
As a man, I do not really prefer to celebrate birthdays or anniversaries. But I am a father of five children and husband.
If my children expect some birthday celebration, I would always give them presents a week before their birthday and say that it was a present because they have been good in this way or that.
On the day itself, I would surprise them with a cake or eating out at Pizza Hut or McDonalds. I do the same for my wedding anniversaries and my wife seems to be happy with it.
I do not believe in all those celebrations, but because others do and it makes them happy and I can provide it, what is the big deal?
I do not say that the celebration is part of the sunnah and I don’t go overboard celebrating them.
If people of different religions send me a birthday card, I would thank them for remembering! I would not feel sad if nobody remembers my birthday but if they do … well and good.
Come to think of it, why do Muslims celebrate the Prophet’s Birthday? Why celebrate the Isra’ Mi’raj or The Ascension? The Hijrah?
I have read many hadiths and stories of Sahabah. None of them celebrates these dates.
Where do we come off denigrating other faiths? We, Muslims, must remember that Valentine’s Day is not responsible for our children’s immoral activities.
We are.
Look deep into ourselves and ask what we have done to nurture our children in these modern times.
It is a hard thing but every conscious parent has to go through it. How do we teach the values we hold dear.
Certainly NOT by denigrating other people’s faith! Let them know it through your actions but you must have knowledge in them.
Lastly, on the matter of saying Christians are bad … well, my children, my wife and I have been treated by the best doctors who are mostly non-Muslims and I thank Allah for their skill and knowledge.
I have been taught more by non-Muslim lecturers and teachers who cared about my future and I thank Allah for their dedication.
Am I a Christian or a Buddhist? No … I am still a Muslim. I read the teachings of the Buddha and the Bible in the spirit that all religion come from the same source and there is much to teach us if we are humble in our search for spiritual peace.
Let us all be humble in learning and much more humble in teaching knowledge.
This was first published as a letter on Malaysiakini.
3. Emory Wheel(http://www.emorywheel.com)
Valentine’s Day Across the Globe, 13 February 2012
by Simran Khosla
Roses are red, violets are blue. Sugar is sweet and so are you. We all remember scrawling this, in some form or another, and folding a red sheet of paper in half to make a heart; an incredible discovery when you make your first one. Valentine’s Day remains ingrained in most of us as we’ve grown up. Anonymous Valentines were slipped through lockers in middle school; we sent cupcakes and roses through school-funded Valentine’s Day events. Even today, as we crawl across campus, we see chalkings for Valegrams and other sentimental gifts to get us into the season.
But, where did it all come from? When did children start using safety scissors for construction papers hearts? When did every Feb. 14 become a day for couples to rub the rest of our faces in their romances?
Some speculated that St. Valentine sent the first Valentine. In reality, St. Valentine is as associated with the creation of Valentines as Jesus is with Easter eggs, so not at all. St. Valentine was a persecuted Christian during the reign of Roman emperor Claudius II. For some unknown reason, Claudius wanted to interrogate St. Valentine in person. Quickly impressed by the soon-to-be saint, Claudius tried to convert St. Valentine from Christianity to Roman paganism. St. Valentine refused to give up his faith and was sentenced to death.
The night before his execution, it is said that St. Valentine performed a miracle, healing the blind daughter of the jailer. In the American Greeting Card’s telling of this legend on History.com, the ending is amended to add that St. Valentine sent the world’s first Valentine to the jailer’s daughter, signing it “Your Valentine” thus coining the phrase. Completely unproven, this part of the story is considered a commercialized addition.
Like every good English major, I’ve learned that when unsure of the answer, look to the dead British guys.
Interestingly, my major’s method works when searching for the origins of St. Valentine’s Day. One of the most famous, and longest dead, members of the literary canon helped me out on this one: Geoffrey Chaucer. He was said to be the first to associate the day of St. Valentine with romance.
In “Parlement of Foules,” Chaucer writes:
“For this was on seynt Volantynys day
Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.”
For those of you who have forgotten your middle English, this translates in modern English to, “For this was Saint Valentine’s Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate.”
The couplet was written as part of a poem honoring the marriage of King Richard II and Anne of Bohemia. From his marriage of birds, Chaucer’s imagery seemed to solidify Valentine’s Day as a holiday for lovers.
Looking to the years after Chaucer, romantic traditions continued to be a core part of Feb. 14. Some even turned the day into a legal matter. In 15th century Paris, men and women were constantly facing issues with courtship. On Valentine’s Day in 1400, a “High Court of Love” was created.
Following legal procedures, the court would be made up of tribunals, with 10 to 70 women who heard cases in the form of complaints from lovers. The court dealt with love, adultery, flirtations, betrayals and violence against women. They would ruminate on romantic matters and rule in favor of the one they believed had better followed the “rules of love.”
By the 18th century, Valentines were an established part of popular culture.
So much so that in 1797, an enterprising British publisher decided to help young men who were not so well-versed in romance. The Young Man’s Valentine Writer was published, containing a large collection of romantic love poems for those who preferred to copy and paste rather than write their own.
In different parts of the world, traditions began to develop as all cultures caught the love bug. In Norfolk, the children believe in a character called Jack Valentine who brings sweets and presents for them. In Portugal, Valentine’s Day is referred to as Dia dos Namorados, which translates to, “day of those that are in love with each other,” or, more simply, “Lover’s Day.”
Not everyone seems to feel the love though.
In some countries, like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran and Malaysia, religious political parties have tried to impose a ban on Valentine’s Day-related items. But even politics can’t stop the Valentines.
Saudi Arabia’s ban supposedly created a black market, purely for roses and wrapping paper. Florists in Pakistan say they still sell an excessive amount of red roses on Feb. 14 every year.
Some countries chose to take it in the other direction, seizing the holiday from romantic lovers and turning it into a day for friendship, as well as love. In most of Latin America, Valentine’s Day is celebrated along with the tradition of amigo secreto, or Secret Friend, where people give gifts to assigned friends in a manner similar to Secret Santa.
In Finland, Feb. 14 is Ystävänpäivä, which translates to, “Friend’s Day.” A similar type of festival is celebrated in Estonia.
Sharing the love with your friends as well as lovers is not a new notion in this country either. More than half of the Valentines sent every year are given to family members who aren’t a spouse, and many go to children. In fact, the people who receive the most valentines every year are teachers, monitoring their classrooms during construction paper activities.
So maybe the secret to surviving Valentine’s day when you’re single isn’t about finding a significant other for this special day, but about remembering those who significantly affect you everyday. Whether it’s a boyfriend or a best friend, make sure you take a minute to tell someone you love them today, because today is a day where, as another dead British dude once said, “all you need is love.”
— Contact Simran Khosla.
4. Vancouver Sun (http://www.vancouversun.com)
We need friends in Muslim world, 13 February 2012
by Gordon Gibson, Special to the Sun
Remarkable in its ambitious modesty was the founding conference of the Global Movement of Moderates. The event took place in Kuala Lumpur, mid-January. The idea is an enthusiasm of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, and there were some 500 delegates from a total of 60 countries but with a concentration of Muslim majority nations from Egypt through the other Arab states and Iran, through Pakistan and east to Malaysia and Indonesia.
Najib’s idea is simple. The great divide in our world is not between religions, nor the developed vs. underdeveloped worlds. They all have much in common. Rather, the great divide is between moderates and extremists, and moderates in all countries are morally obliged to forcefully speak out against extremism where and whenever they see it.
The backstory, I am guessing, is a frustration in much of the Muslim world at what they see is the conventional wisdom in the West that Islam, extremism and terrorism are intimately linked. Moderation, said the prime minister, is not about appeasement, not about being weak or doing things half-heartedly. Rather it is a firm insistence on a tolerance, a “mutuality” of live and let live as another speaker said, and totally hard line against violence.
All admitted that 9/11 was violent and unacceptable, as are suicide bombers. But others saw Western extremism in such things as the invasion of Iraq or even the Danish cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed. By the prime minister’s definition, extremism might not involve violence. He pointed to the global financial crisis of 2008 that left the “devastated lives of millions” in its wake. The mug shots of the culprits here, he said, would show a rogues gallery of the “sharp suited, desk bound and clean shaved, rather than dark skinned, bearded and combat-trained.”
Now, who can be against moderation? But a couple of questions. We know that violence begets violence. Does moderation beget moderation? Perhaps in the long run it does. Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela were repeatedly cited.
How to deal with the causes of extremism? A former chief of United States intelligence gave a sympathetic appreciation. The fertile ground lies with those who feel oppressed, hopeless and powerless. So they must be liberated, given hope and empowered. But how? Due process? It has its difficulties. Within Pakistan, said a delegate from that country, the terrorists “kill witnesses and policemen and judges.” Nothing is simple.
Does the idea of “moderation” extend to particular internal public policies within national boundaries? Just a few hundred years ago Christianity (in the form, for example, of the Inquisition and numerous religious wars) brought terrible oppression to Europe. Progress takes time, but in modern days things move much more quickly.
A thread of anti-Semitism ran through the gathering, all keyed off the Palestine problem. This is an enduring tragedy where moderation doesn’t seem to work and there was insufficient appreciation of the Israeli imperative of simple survival. That bit of Arab moderation will have to be accepted as part of any solution.
For this Westerner, from a completely secular country, it was startling to see how everything about politics in this venue was informed by Islam. No speech was complete without quotes from the Koran. But if we want to understand reality, that is the way it is.
My final, enduring impression and perhaps the most relevant to Canada came on the long return flight, leaving Malaysia and Indonesia, over Vietnam, skirting China and Japan. We are such a tiny country, just one-half of one per cent of this big world. As such, we need friends and trading partners. This part of the world is booming. It is the future. In parts of Kuala Lumpur you can hardly see the sky for construction cranes. We need to become a part of the embryonic Trans-Pacific Partnership, a new trade group. The Conservative government is working at this, and it is a matter of great importance.
Gordon Gibson, a former leader of the B.C. Liberal party, is a public policy commentator based in Vancouver.
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
5. Malaysiakini(http://www.malaysiakini.com)
Valentine's Day raid nabs five couples in Selangor, 14 February 2012
Five couples were picked up by the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) and the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) in an early morning anti-vice raid that was apparently timed to coincide with Valentine’s Day today.
According to Star, the five couples between the ages of 20 and 30 were arrested for alleged khalwat (close proximity) at budget hotels around Kota Damansara and Bandar Sri Damansara, in operations mounted at 12.30am today.
The operation dubbed ‘Petaling district level 6th anti-vice campaign’, saw the participation of 85 enforcement officers from Jais, MBPJ, the Immigration Department, district land office and police.
Suspected offenders are liable to a maximum two-year jail term or fine of up to RM3,000 or both under the Syariah Criminal Enactment 1995.
The 71st Muzakarah Conference of the Fatwa committee in November 2005 had declared that Valentine's Day is not part of Islam.
“The spirit of the celebration contains elements of Christianity and its practice that is mixed with sinful acts is prohibited and contradicts with Islam,” the edict stated.
Last year, 80 Muslims were reportedly hauled up for allegedly being involved in khalwat on Valentine's Day.
Flak for PAS
Kedah Gerakan chairperson Dr Cheah Soon Hai, meanwhile, hit out at PAS Youth for disapproving of Valentine Day celebrations by Malaysians.
He said PAS is oblivious to basic human rights, as it pushes its agenda to dominate those of other creeds.
Cheah (right), the Derga assemblyperson, claimed that the BN is becoming open and liberal while Pakatan Rakyat is moving toward the opposite extreme.
He said he admired DAP chairperson Karpal Singh for upholding his political principles and ethics.
Karpal has called on PAS to rescind its stance in the interests of freedom of expression.
(End)
